Guided Account Warming for Establishing Sending Reputations

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, methods, and systems for warming new accounts. One system includes a server electronically networked with a user and a plurality of recipients of an electronic mail campaign of the user, the server operating to obtain an initial contact list, check the initial contact list to determine that the initial contact list satisfies an initial set of engagement rules, generate an active contact list comprising modifying the initial contact list when the initial contact list does not satisfy the initial set of engagement rules, electronically send an electronic message campaign to the active contact list, analyze a success of the electronically sent campaign, and adaptively adjust the active contact list according to active engagement rules based on an evaluated success of the electronically sent campaign.

RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation patent application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/590,880 filed Feb. 2, 2022, which claimspriority to Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/228,050 filed Jul31, 2021, which are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DESCRIBED EMBODIMENTS

The described embodiments relate generally to intelligent electronicmessage management. More particularly, the described embodiments relateto systems, methods and apparatuses for guided account warming forestablishing sending reputation with inbox providers.

BACKGROUND

Merchants frequently send email campaigns to prospective customers togenerate sales of products or services. However, sending the emailcampaigns to uninterested recipients can damage the reputation of themerchant, and make such email campaigns less effective.

It is desirable to have methods, apparatuses, and systems for guidedaccount warming for establishing sending reputation with inboxproviders.

SUMMARY

An embodiment includes a computer-implemented method of warming sendinginfrastructure for new electronic message marketing accounts. The methodincludes obtaining an initial contact list, checking the initial contactlist to determine that the initial contact list satisfies an initial setof engagement rules, generating an active contact list comprisingmodifying the initial contact list when the initial contact list doesnot satisfy the initial set of engagement rules, electronically sendingan electronic message campaign to recipients of the active contact list,analyzing a success of the electronically sent campaign, and adaptivelyadjusting the active contact list according to active engagement rulesbased on an evaluated success of the electronically sent campaign.

Another embodiment includes a system for warming new accounts. Thesystem includes a server electronically networked with a user and aplurality of recipients of an electronic mail campaign of the user, theserver operating to obtain an initial contact list, check the initialcontact list to determine that the initial contact list satisfies aninitial set of rules of engagement, generate an active contact listcomprising modifying the initial contact list when the initial contactlist does not satisfy the initial set of engagement rules,electronically send an electronic message campaign to recipients of theactive contact list, analyze a success of the electronically sentcampaign, and adaptively adjust the active contact list according toactive engagement rules based on an evaluated success of theelectronically sent campaign.

Other aspects and advantages of the described embodiments will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example theprinciples of the described embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a system for guided account warming for establishingsending reputation with inbox providers, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows another system for guided account warming for establishingsending reputation with inbox providers, according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that includes steps of a method for guidedaccount warming for establishing sending reputation with inboxproviders, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows an engagement determination engine, and a campaign successengine, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows displays of campaign recipients in which the display ofeach of the campaign recipients varies depending on characteristics ofeach of the campaign recipients, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments described include methods, apparatuses, and systems forguided account warming for establishing sending reputation with inboxproviders. For an embodiment, the inbox providers are a merchant thatprovides a product or service. The inbox providers can be associatedwith one or more of different types of electronic messages. Thedifferent types of electronic messages can include one of more of email,text, SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (multimedia message), WhatsApp®,Push notifications, and/or Facebook messenger®. For at least someembodiments, the sending reputation of the sending merchant is protectedby analyzing characteristics of recipients of electronic messagecampaigns of the merchant. The analyzed characteristics provide forintelligent campaigns that send electronic messages to vetted recipientswhich are more likely to be interested and/or responsive to theelectronic message campaign.

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 for guided account warming for establishingsending reputation with inbox providers (merchants), according to anembodiment. The system 100 includes a server 101. For an embodiment, theserver 101 is electronically connected through a network 114 toelectronic devices 104, 106 of site visitors 108, 112.

For an embodiment, the server 101 operates to warm electronic messageaccounts of a merchant. For an embodiment, the server 101 obtains aninitial contact list that includes an initial number of electronicmessage contacts. Further, for an embodiment, the server 101 checks theinitial contact list to determine that the initial contact listsatisfies an initial set of engagement rules.

Currently, it is extremely easy for a merchant to start off on an email(or other type of electronic message) campaign with one of the mostdeliverability-harming actions a merchant can take. That is, themerchant pulls in a list of dubious quality contacts and blasts an emailcampaign to that entire list. Many of the recipients of the emailcampaign most likely will not happily receive the email campaign, andthe merchant's reputation is hurt. Future email campaigns will not be ascredible due to the degradation of the merchant's reputation.

For an embodiment, an initial set of engagement rules may include avolume warning. This feature gives a warning when a merchant is going tosend an email campaign to a large volume of recipients that is likely tobe damaging to a sender reputation of the merchant. For an embodiment,whenever the merchant wants to send an email campaign over a recommendedvolume, a warning to the merchant appears. That is, the server 101automatically sends a warning to the merchant when the recommendedvolume is exceeded. However, this feature has a couple of issues. First,the warning is based entirely on the volume of email recipients, notengagement of the recipients, so not receiving the warning does not meana user is following best practices for warming. Second, and moreimportantly, the merchant may not act on the warning, continuing to sendemails beyond the recommended volume at nearly the same rate whether themerchant received the warning or not.

Historically, human on-boarders have been used for screening and guidingmerchants to send email campaigns to safer audiences. However, usinghuman on-boarders is time intensive. While warming is not a completelysolved problem, it is clear that capturing even a portion ofon-boarder-driven value for self-serve is valuable. However, on-boarderscannot track or sense actions by the recipients of the email campaign,and accordingly cannot adapt the email campaign based on tracked orsensed actions of the recipients.

For an embodiment, the server 101 operates to generate an active contactlist that includes modifying the initial contact list when the initialcontact list does not satisfy the initial set of engagement rules. Notethat, for an embodiment, the active contact list will be the initialcontact list if the initial contact list satisfies the initial set ofengagement rules.

For an embodiment, the server 101 operating to check the initial contactlist to determine that the initial contact list satisfies the initialset of engagement rules includes the server 101 operating to determinewhether a number of recipients of the initial contact list is greaterthan a first contact number threshold and may be harmful to a brand of auser (merchant) of the new email marketing accounts. For an embodiment,the server 101 further operates to generate the active contact list bymodifying the initial contact list by reducing the number of recipientsto below the first contact threshold. For an embodiment, alerts can beprovided to the merchant to approve/disapprove the modification to theinitial contact list.

For an embodiment, the server 101 operating to check the initial contactlist to determine that the initial contact list satisfies the initialset of engagement rules includes the server 101 operating to identify anumber of unengaged recipients of the initial contact list. Further, theserver 101 operates to compare the number of recipients of the initialcontact list with a number of recipients of the of initial contact listminus the unengaged recipients. That is, a new list is generated byremoving the unengaged recipients from the initial contact list. Acontact list that includes a higher percentage of engaged recipientswill be more successful.

For an embodiment, in the context of determining engaged recipient forthe purpose of determining whether the initial contact list satisfiesthe initial engagement rules, the engagement determination is made basedon prior electronic message campaigns of the same merchant as thepresent electronic message campaign. That is, the merchant of thepresent campaign has either previously sent out the same or a similarelectronic message campaign, or the merchant has previously sent out adifferent campaign.

Engaged Recipients

For an embodiment, an engaged recipient is a recipient of one or moreprior electronic message campaigns that takes an action that qualifiesthe recipient as engaged. For an embodiment, the one or more priorelectronic message campaigns are campaigns of a merchant of a presentcampaign. A recipient that does not qualify as an engaged recipient isidentified as an unengaged recipient. Different and adaptivequalifications can be utilized in the determination of whether anelectronic message campaign recipient qualifies as an engaged recipient.

For an embodiment, an engaged recipient is a recipient that takes anaction in response to receiving one or more of the prior electronicmessage campaigns. For an embodiment, the recipient opening theelectronic message of the prior electronic message campaign qualifies asan action. For an embodiment, the recipient selecting a link includedwithin the prior electronic message campaign qualifies as an action. Foran embodiment, the recipient completing a purchase of a product orservice based on the prior electronic message campaign qualifies as anaction. For an embodiment, web browsing of the recipient is tracked, andthe recipient performing specific web activity qualifies as an action.For an embodiment, the recipient is associated with a mobile device thatincludes location and/or motion detection capabilities, and therecipient performing specific motions or visiting specific locationsqualifies as an action.

An embodiment includes defining or identifying different periods oftime, wherein qualification of whether a recipient is an engagedrecipient is different for different of the identified or predeterminedperiods of time. Different actions performed by a recipient afterreceiving the electronic message campaign can demonstrate differentlevels of engagement by the recipient. For example, a recipient openingan electronic message of the campaign may depict a lower level ofengagement than a recipient that selects a link included within themessage. An embodiment includes lower levels of engagement actions beingrequired to have occurred more recently than high levels of engagementactions. For example, a recipient opening an electronic message of thecampaign may be required to have occurred more recently than a recipientselecting a link within the electronic message because the linkselection shows a higher level of engagement than accessing theelectronic message. As will be described, different levels of engagementcan be given different engagement scores. One or more of the scores canbe summed. If the total of the one or more summed engagements exceeds anengagement score, then the recipient is determined to be engaged.

An embodiment includes adjusting the action of a recipient required tobe designated as an engagement based on an amount of time after therecipient receives the electronic message campaign. An embodimentincludes ranking actions of the recipient, wherein the ranking reflectsa level of engagement by the recipient. For example, the recipientopening the campaign may result in a first (lower) ranking. Therecipient selecting a link within the campaign may result in a second(higher than the first ranking) ranking. The recipient taking an actionto purchase a service or product of the campaign may result in a third(higher than the first or second rankings) ranking. The recipientphysically going to a physical location after receiving the campaign mayresult in a fourth (higher than the first, second, or third rankings)ranking. As time elapses after the campaign has been sent, for anembodiment, an action qualifying as engagement changes over time. Thatis, the longer after the campaign has been sent, the higher the rankingof the action required to qualify as an engagement.

For an embodiment, a weighted combination of actions by the recipient isrequired for qualifying as an engagement. That is, a threshold score ofaction of the recipient may be required to qualify as an engagement,wherein each action of the recipient has a weighted sub-score. Theweighted sub-scores of multiple actions by the recipient are summed. Ifthe summation of the weighted sub-scored exceeds the threshold score,then the multiple actions by the recipient qualify as an engagement.

For an embodiment, the weighted sub-score of each action decays aftertime. That is, as time passed after sending the campaign, the sub-scoreweight of each of the plurality of actions decays or is reduced.

For an embodiment, the sub-score weight for each action can beadaptively adjusted based on which action occurred prior to a presentaction. That is, the pattern of the sequence of actions can provide anindication of the level of engagement of the recipient. For example, aprior action of a recipient purchasing a pogo stick can make an actionof opening a message of a campaign directed to helmets score higher.Therefore, tracking behaviors of recipients both before and after thesending of the (prior) campaign can influence what actions by therecipient qualify as an engagement.

For an embodiment, the server 101 operating to generate the activecontact list includes the server 101 operating to eliminating theunengaged recipients if the compared number of recipients of the initialcontact list with a number of recipients of the of initial contact listminus the unengaged recipients is greater than a threshold percentage.For example, if the number of total recipients is 20% greater than thenumber of total recipients minus the unengaged recipients, then theunengaged recipients are eliminated. The idea is to make sure that lessthan a certain percentage of the total recipients of the electronicmessage campaign are unengaged recipients, or that greater than acertain percentage of the total recipients of the electronic messagecampaign are engaged recipients. The greater the number of engagedrecipients, the better the results of the campaign.

For example, if a merchant is looking to send out a campaign, an initialcontact list may include 100,000 potential recipients of the presentcampaign. For an embodiment, a volume threshold is checked. For example,an initial volume threshold may be 1000. Since 100,000 is greater than1000, the initial list may be determined to be potentially harmful tothe sender's (merchant's) reputation. The initial contact list is thencompared to what the list would be if unengaged recipients are removedfrom the list. If, for example, 20,000 are determined to be unengaged,then the initial number of 100,000 is compared to the list if theunengaged are removed (80,000). If the result differs by greater than apredetermined amount (say 20%), then the unengaged recipients areremoved from the list.

For example, a merchant may upload a contact list of 100,000 recipients.The server 101 may perform a guided warming of an electronic messagecampaign by determining which of the recipients of the contact list havebeen unengaged (for example, recipients that have not opened or clickedan electronic message of the merchant in the last 30 days). If, forexample, there are 50,000 who have not engaged with an electronicmessage campaign of the merchant, and the volume cap is 30,000, then thetotal number of recipients can be reduced by identifying potentialrecipients that have been unengaged for 15 days (a shorter time periodor time sample for determining engagement). If, for example, the 15 dayperiod results in 80,000 recipients and 20,000 engaged which results ina lower number of unengaged recipients.

For an embodiment, after generation of the active contact list, theserver 101 automatically sends the electronic message campaign to therecipients of the active contact list. For an embodiment, the server 101further operates to analyze a success of the electronically sentcampaign. Further, for an embodiment, the server 101 further operates toadaptively adjust the active contact list according to active engagementrules based on an evaluated success of the electronically sent campaign.

Analyzing Success of Electronically Sent Campaign

For an embodiment, analyzing the success of the campaign includesdetermining an open rate of the electronic messages of the campaign. Foran embodiment, determining the open rate includes determining apercentage of recipients that opened the campaign. That is, theelectronic message campaign is electronically sent to the recipients ofthe active contact list. The success of the electronic message campaigncan be gauged or determined based on a percentage of the recipients thatreceive the electronic message campaign that opens or accesses themessage. Not opening the message can indicate a complete lack ofinterest by the recipient. Opening the message can include at least someinterest in the electronic message campaign. Therefore, determining anopen rate of the recipients that received the electronic messagecampaign provides an indication of a level of success of the campaign.

For an embodiment, analyzing the success of the campaign includesdetermining a click through rate of the campaign, including determininga percentage of recipients that selected a link within the campaign.Whether a recipient performs an action based on the campaign can providean indication of the success of the campaign. For an embodiment, thecampaign includes a message to the recipients that includes a link thatwhen accessed sends the recipient to a desired web location. Thisindicates that the recipient accessed the campaign and performed anaction of accessing a link within the campaign. These actions showinterest by the recipient and provide an indication of the success ofthe campaign.

For an embodiment, analyzing the success of the campaign includesdetermining a conversion rate of the campaign, including determining apercentage of recipients that are determined to have performed an action(purchase) based on the campaign. If a recipient performs an action,such as, a purchase of a product or service based on the campaign, thenthe recipient has accessed (opened message) and performed an action thatincludes a purchase. These activities by the recipient demonstrate asuccess of the campaign. Determining the percentage of recipients thatcomplete a purchase provides a relative level of success of thecampaign.

For an embodiment, analyzing the success of the campaign includesdetermining other actions of the recipients after having received thecampaign. Action performed by the recipient may include, for example,the recipient visiting a physical location, or some other change ofbehavior, such as, making a reservation at a restaurant, subscribing toa mailing list, reading an article, visiting a website, or posting onsocial media.

For an embodiment, web activity of the recipients is tracked. Webactivity of the recipient after the recipient receives the campaign canprovide indications of the success of the campaign. As suggested, webactivity such as making a reservation at a restaurant, subscribing to amailing list, reading an article, visiting a website, or posting onsocial media can be used as indicators of the success of the campaign.

For an embodiment, motion and/or physical locations visited by therecipients is tracked. This allows determinations of visiting a physicallocation. Further, sensed motion of the recipient can be useful. Asdescribed, for an embodiment, one or more of the recipients areassociated with a mobile device. An application on the mobile device canutilize sensors within the mobile device to sense location and/or motionof the recipient. The sensed location of the user can be used todetermine that the recipient visited a location of the merchant afterreceiving the electronic message campaign from the merchant. Further,motion sensors can be used to determine, for example, that the recipientphysically picked up a product of the merchant, how long the recipientheld the product, and how long the recipient looked at the product. Allof these sensed location and motion factors can be used to determine thesuccess of the electronic message campaign.

For an embodiment, a weighted combination of actions by the recipientsis used to gauge the success of the campaign. That is, some actionsprovide a greater indication of the success of the campaign. The levelof success of the campaign can be gauged based on a weighted combinationof actions in which some actions are given a greater weight. Further,the weight of a particular action can adaptively change based on theoccurrence of a prior action. For example, the action of physicallyvisiting a location of a merchant by recipient may be given a greaterweight if the recipient previously performed a web search of a productof the merchant as a result of receiving the electronic message campaignfrom the merchant.

For an embodiment, actions of a recipient of the electronic message areweighted differently depending on the type of electronic message thatthe recipient received the electronic campaign. For example, for anembodiment, opening an electronic message of an campaign through a SMS(Short Message Service) is given a lower weight than opening anelectronic message of the campaign through electronic message.Generally, everyone opens an SMS message, whereas recipients tend toscrutinize an electronic message more carefully. Possible electronicmessaging types include, for example, email, text, SMS (Short MessageService), MMS (multimedia message), WhatsApp®, Push notifications, andFacebook messenger®.

Adaptively Adjusting the Active Contact List

As previously stated, for an embodiment, the active engagement rulesinclude identifying engaged or active recipients of the electronicmessage campaign of the active contact list over a predetermined periodof time. For an embodiment, the active contact list being adaptivelyadjusted based on an evaluated success of the electronically sentcampaign includes adjusting the predetermined period of time based onthe evaluated success of the electronically sent campaign. For anembodiment, the period of time increases when the evaluated successindicates the electronically sent campaign is determined to besuccessful, and wherein the period of time decreases when the evaluatedsuccess indicates the electronically sent campaign is determined to beunsuccessful. For an embodiment, the predetermined period of time isadaptively increased based on the relative success of the campaign, andthe predetermined period of time is adaptively decreased based on therelative lack of success of the campaign. The more successful a campaignis, the greater the predetermined period of time, and therefore, mostlikely an increase in the number of recipients. The less successful thecampaign, the less the predetermined period of time, and therefore, morelikely a decrease in the number of recipients.

For an embodiment, threshold levels of engagement action of therecipient can be adjusted based on the success of the electronic messagecampaign. For example, if a campaign is being determine as verysuccessful, the threshold level of engagement determination can beadaptively adjusted to a lower level. Further, the time period forengagement can be increased the greater the level of determine successof the electronic message campaign,

For an embodiment, the active contact list adaptively updates asfrequently as every time the electronic message campaign iselectronically sent. For an embodiment, the predetermined period oftimes adaptively updates as frequently as every time the electronicmessage campaign is electronically sent.

A website manager 140 operates and manages an ecommerce website of, forexample, a merchant. For an embodiment, the website manager 140 includesa server of a business that operates to directly control the ecommercewebsite. For an embodiment, the website manager 140 includes acombination of the business and a third party to operate to control theecommerce website. For an embodiment, the website manager 140 is acustomer of the operator of the server 101. For an embodiment, thewebsite manager 140 is a combination of the customer of the operator ofthe server 101 and a third party (such as, a Shopify platform).

FIG. 2 shows another system for guided account warming for establishingsending reputation with inbox providers, according to anotherembodiment. For this embodiment, one or more of the recipients areassociated with a mobile device. Accordingly, actions and physicallocations of the recipients can be tracked. For at least someembodiments, the tracking of motions and/or locations of the recipientsare used for determining whether the recipients are engaged.

As shown, recipients 108, 112 operate mobile devices 204, 206. For anembodiment, the mobile device includes location and/or motion detectiondevices. The location monitoring device may include a GNSS (globalnetwork satellite system), such as, GPS (global positioning system).Further the motion detection devices of the mobile devices 204, 206 mayinclude accelerometers, gyroscopes, and/or magnetic sensors.

For an embodiment, the location monitoring of the mobile device of therecipient is used to identify business locations visited by therecipient after receiving the campaign. Different businesses can berated, wherein particular businesses yield a higher engagement score,and other particular businesses yield a lower engagement score. Theengagement score of each business can be adaptively adjusted based onthe campaign and can be adjusted based on other businesses visited bythe recipient. For an embodiment, patterns of location visits by therecipient can be used to influence the level of engagement.

For an embodiment, motion of the recipient is tracked, and can be usedto influence the level of engagement. Certain actions (motions) of therecipient may indicate different levels of engagement. For anembodiment, the computing devices 204, 206 may include a mobile phone, asmart watch, or a headset. Motion of the recipient can include trackinghand motions, direction of eyesight, and/or orientations of therecipient. Accordingly, whether the recipient is in a physical locationof a product of the merchant can be determined. Further, how long therecipient holds or looks at a specific product of the merchant can bedetermined. Further, whether the recipient interacts with anotherrecipient can be determined. All the sensed/tracked locations andmotions of the recipient can be included within a success score of theelectronic message campaign.

Further, for an embodiment, different businesses physically visited canbe rated, wherein particular businesses yield a higher success score andother particular businesses yield a lower success score. The successscore of each business can be adaptively adjusted based on the campaignand can be adjusted based on other businesses visited by the recipient.For an embodiment, patterns of location visits by the recipient can beused to influence the level of success. That is, for example, visiting alocation of a business can be rated higher or lower based on a previousbusiness visited by the recipient.

As previously described, the recipient tracking can include monitoringof web browsing of the recipient. Online action and activity of therecipient can influence the success score. Links accessed by therecipient can be tracked. Websites visited by the recipient can betracked. Online purchases of the recipient can be tracked. Each of theonline web browsing of the recipient can influence the success score ofthe electronic message campaign.

For an embodiment, relationships between different recipients aredetermined. For example, web tracking can determine online relationshipsbetween recipients. Further, for an embodiment, a real physicalrelationship between recipients can be established by tracking thelocations of the different recipients. Two recipients may be identifiedas living together based on location tracking. Further, commonalities ofrecipients can be determined by identifying common locations, or commontypes of locations between the different recipients.

For an embodiment, a level of engagement or a level of success can beadaptively adjusted for each recipient based on actions of an associatedrecipient. An action by a related or common type of recipient caninfluence how much an action by a recipient influences the engagementdetermination or influences a success determination.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that includes steps of a method for guidedaccount warming for establishing sending reputation with inboxproviders, according to an embodiment. A first step 310 includesobtaining an initial contact list (that includes an initial number ofelectronic message contacts). A second step 320 includes checking theinitial contact list to determine that the initial contact listsatisfies an initial set of engagement rules. A third step 310 includesgenerating an active contact list comprising modifying the initialcontact list when the initial contact list does not satisfy the initialset of engagement rules; (Note that, for an embodiment, the activecontact list will be the initial contact list if the initial contactlist satisfies the initial rules of engagement). A fourth step 340includes electronically sending an electronic message campaign to theactive contact list. A fifth step 350 includes analyzing a success ofthe electronically sent campaign. A sixth step 360 includes adaptivelyadjusting the active contact list according to active engagement rulesbased on an evaluated success of the electronically sent campaign.

For an embodiment, the engagement rules and evaluated success of thecampaign is adjusted based on an industry of the merchant. For example,the engagement rules can be adapted based on company size, or a catalogsize of the merchant.

For an embodiment, the active engagement rules include identifyingengaged recipients of the electronic message campaign of the activecontact list over a predetermined period of time. For an embodiment,multiple actions by the recipient are needed to qualify as anengagement. For an embodiment, a frequency of engagement is furtherincluded. That is, the frequency of engagement over the predeterminedperiod of time. This can be reflected in the definition of engagedrecipient. That is, an engaged recipient is defined as one or moreactions performed by the recipient.

For an embodiment, and engagement or success determination includes anumber of engagements over the period of time. That is, recipients whohave opened an electronic message in the last 30 days or opened 2electronic messages in the last 90 days qualify as an engagement. For atleast some embodiment, actions of a recipient that qualify as anengagement include the recipient visiting a website over some period oftime, signing up for a list over some period of time, making a purchase,visiting a physical location (e.g. store location), and/or interactedwith a product or a phone application (for example, a Fitbit®).

An embodiment includes a plurality of predetermined periods of time,wherein qualification of whether a recipient is an engaged recipient isdifferent for different of the predetermined periods of time. Forexample, a recipient opening an electronic message might show a lowerlevel of engagement than a recipient clicking a link in an electronicmessage, so an electronic message may be required to be opened morerecently than a click in order to qualify the recipient as engaged. Foran embodiment, different actions have different associated weights. Foran embodiment, the weights decay over time. For an embodiment, actionshaving greater weights decay over time at a different rate than actionshaving a lower weight. For an embodiment, multiple actions havingdifferent weights are summed, and an engagement is determined if thesummation is greater than a selected threshold value. For an embodiment,one action occurring varies the weighting of a subsequent action. Forexample, a recipient buying a pogo stick can make the action of openinghelmet emails by the recipient weighted more highly.

For an embodiment, adaptively adjusting active contact list according toactive engagement rules based on an evaluated success of theelectronically sent campaign includes adjusting the predetermined periodof time based on the evaluated success of the electronically sentcampaign. For an embodiment, the period of time increases when theevaluated success indicates the electronically sent campaign isdetermined to be successful, and wherein the period of time decreaseswhen the evaluated success indicates the electronically sent campaign isdetermined to be unsuccessful. For an embodiment, the active contactlist adaptively updates as frequently as every time the electronicmessage campaign is electronically sent. For an embodiment, the activecontact list can alternatively be updated periodically independent ofthe electronic campaign being sent. For example, updated twice daily.For an embodiment, the predetermined period of time adaptively updatesas frequently as every time the electronic message campaign iselectronically sent.

For an embodiment, checking the initial contact list to determine thatthe initial contact list satisfies the initial set of rules ofengagement includes determining whether a number of recipients of theinitial contact list is greater than a first contact number thresholdand may be harmful to a brand of a user of the new electronic messagemarketing accounts. For an embodiment, generating the active contactlist comprises modifying the initial contact list by reducing the numberof recipients to below the first contact threshold. For an embodiment,the number of recipients is reduced by using a smaller time sample ofengaged recipients. For an embodiment, alerts can be provided to theuser to approve/disapprove the modification to the initial contact list.For an embodiment, checking the initial contact list to determine thatthe initial contact list satisfies the initial set of rules ofengagement includes identifying a number of unengaged recipients of theinitial contact list, and comparing the number of recipients of theinitial contact list with a number of recipients of the of initialcontact list minus the unengaged recipients are removed from the initialcontact list. For an embodiment, generating the active contact listincludes eliminating the unengaged recipients if the compared number ofrecipients of the initial contact list with a number of recipients ofthe initial contact list minus the unengaged recipients is greater thana threshold percentage. For example, ensuring that no more than 20% ofthe recipients are unengaged.

For an embodiment, analyzing the success of the campaign comprisesdetermining an open rate of the campaign, including determining apercentage of recipients that opened the campaign. For an embodiment,analyzing the success of the campaign comprises determining a clickthrough rate of the campaign, including determining a percentage ofrecipients that selected a link within the campaign. For an embodiment,analyzing the success of the campaign comprises determining a conversionrate of the campaign, including determining a percentage of recipientsthat are determined to have performed an action (such as, a purchase)based on the campaign. For an embodiment, determining that recipientsperformed an action includes determining that the recipient visited aphysical location, or some other change of behavior (such as, making areservation at a restaurant, subscribing to a mailing list, reading anarticle, visiting a website, posting on social media). For anembodiment, determination of an action includes a summation of actionswherein each type of action includes a weighting. An action isdetermined if the weighted summation exceeds a predetermined threshold.For an embodiment, the weight of one action is influenced by theoccurrence of another action.

FIG. 4 shows an engagement determination engine 410, and a campaignsuccess engine 420, according to an embodiment. It is to be understoodthat the engagement determination engine 410 and a campaign successengine 420 are figurative and illustrate processing that can occur atthe server 101 (FIG. 1 ) and/or at the website manager 140.

For an embodiment, the engagement determination engine 410 is responsiveto prior electronic message campaigns of the merchant. For anembodiment, the output of the engagement determination engine 410includes an engagement or level of engagement of recipients of the priorelectronic message campaigns of the merchant. For an embodiment, theengagement or level of engagement of recipients of the prior electronicmessage campaigns of the merchant is used to adjust an initial contactlist after checking the initial contact list to determine that theinitial contact list satisfies an initial set of engagement rules. Thatis, the initial contact list is adjusted to reduce the number ofnon-engaged recipients. For an embodiment, the level of engagement ofthe recipients of the prior electronic message campaigns of the merchantis used to adaptively adjust the number of recipients of the initialcontact list.

For an embodiment, the engagement determination engine 410 receivesrecipient online actions that result response to receiving the priorelectronic message campaigns of the merchant as an input. As previouslydescribed, the online action can include opening an electronic messageof prior campaign, selecting links, web browsing, accessing socialnetworks, visiting a website, purchasing a product online, or adding aproduct to online shopping cart etc. As previously described, the levelof engagement of the recipient can be adaptively adjusted based on whichonline actions are performed. Further, the level of engagement of therecipient can be adjusted based on the order or sequence in which theactions are performed. For an embodiment, the levels of engagement areranked with a score. One or more of the scores of the actions can besummed, and the summed amount exceeding a threshold indicates engagementby the recipient.

For an embodiment, the engagement determination engine 410 receivessensed motion and location actions that result in response to receivingthe prior electronic message campaigns of the merchant as an input. Aspreviously described, a computing device of one or more of therecipients can include motion and location sensors which sense thelocation and motions of the recipient(s). The sensing of the location ofthe recipient can provide an indication that the recipient visited alocation of the merchant. Further, the sensed location of the recipientcan indicate interactions with other recipients. The sensed motion ofthe recipients can indicate actions of the recipient, such as, pickingup and viewing a product of the merchant.

For an embodiment, the engagement determination engine 410 receivesrecipient associations in response to receiving the prior electronicmessage campaigns of the merchant as an input. Further, the associationscan be previously determined. For an embodiment, the associations aredetermined by online actions of the recipients. For an embodiment, theassociations are determined by location and motion monitoring of therecipients. For an embodiment, determination of associations betweenrecipients influences the level of engagement of other actions by therecipients. That is, a friend of a recipient performing an action caninfluence the level of engagement of the recipient performing an action.Further, the association between recipients can be established byrecipients that demonstrate similar types of observed behavior.

For an embodiment, the engagement determination engine 410 receivesrecipient values as an input. That is, certain of the recipients can beperceived as “high value” recipients because of a determined influencethat the certain recipients have on others. For example, it may bedetermined that a particular recipient has a large social mediainfluence. Therefore, actions taken by the particular recipient can begiven a higher ranking or score because of the possible influence theparticular recipient may have on other recipients. The value of arecipient can be determined by correlating observed behavior of otherrecipients with behavior of the particular recipient. Further, theparticular recipient may be given on online influence score that helpsdetermine the value of the particular recipient.

For an embodiment, one or more or a weighted combination of the inputsto the engagement determination engine are used for determining a levelof engagement of recipients, and whether each recipient is engaged orunengaged. As previously described, the engagement determinationincludes the weighted combination of inputs exceeding a predeterminedselected threshold.

For an embodiment, the engagement determination engine 410 is responsiveto the prior electronic message campaigns of the merchant. For anembodiment, the output of the engagement determination engine 410includes an engagement or level of engagement of recipients of the priorelectronic message campaigns of the merchant. For an embodiment, theengagement or level of engagement of recipients of the prior electronicmessage campaigns of the merchant is used to adjust an initial contactlist after checking the initial contact list to determine that theinitial contact list satisfies an initial set of engagement rules. Thatis, the initial contact list is adjusted to reduce the number ofnon-engaged recipients. For an embodiment, the level of engagement ofthe recipients of the prior electronic message campaigns of the merchantis used to adaptively adjust the number of recipients of the initialcontact list.

For an embodiment, the present electronic message campaign successdetermination engine 420 receives recipient online actions that resultresponse to receiving the present or current electronic message campaignof the merchant as an input. As previously described, the online actioncan include opening an electronic message of the campaign, selectinglinks, web browsing, accessing social networks, visiting a website,purchasing a product online, or adding a product to online shopping cartetc. As previously described, the level of engagement of the recipientand therefore the success of the present campaign can be adaptivelyadjusted based on which online actions are performed. Further, the levelof engagement of the recipient can be adjusted based on the order orsequence in which the actions are performed. For an embodiment, thelevels of engagement are ranked with a score. One or more of the scoresof the actions can be summed, and the summed amount exceeding athreshold indicates engagement by the recipient.

For an embodiment, the present electronic message campaign successdetermination engine 420 receives sensed motion and location actionsthat result in response to receiving the present electronic messagecampaigns of the merchant as an input. As previously described, acomputing device of one or more of the recipients can include motion andlocation sensors which sense the location and motions of therecipient(s). The sensing of the location of the recipient can providean indication that the recipient visited a location of the merchant.Further, the sensed location of the recipient can indicate interactionswith other recipients. The sensed motion of the recipients can indicateactions of the recipient, such as, picking up and viewing a product ofthe merchant.

For an embodiment, the present electronic message campaign successdetermination engine 420 receives recipient associations in response toreceiving the present electronic message campaigns of the merchant as aninput. Further, the associations can be previously determined. For anembodiment, the associations are determined by online actions of therecipients. For an embodiment, the associations are determined bylocation and motion monitoring of the recipients. For an embodiment,determination of associations between recipients influences the level ofengagement of other actions by the recipients. That is, a friend of arecipient performing an action can influence the level of engagement ofthe recipient performing an action. Further, the association betweenrecipients can be established by recipients that demonstrate similartypes of observed behavior.

For an embodiment, the present electronic message campaign successdetermination engine 420 receives recipient values as an input. That is,certain of the recipients can be perceived as “high value” recipientsbecause of a determined influence that the certain recipients have onothers. For example, it may be determined that a particular recipienthas a large social media influence. Therefore, actions taken by theparticular recipient can be given a higher ranking or score because ofthe possible influence the particular recipient may have on otherrecipients. The value of a recipient can be determined by correlatingobserved behavior of other recipients with behavior of the particularrecipient. Further, the particular recipient may be given on onlineinfluence score that helps determine the value of the particularrecipient.

For an embodiment, one or more or a weighted combination of the inputsto the present electronic message campaign success determination engine420 are used for determining a level of engagement of recipients, andwhether each recipient is engaged or unengaged. As previously described,the success determination includes the weighted combination exceeding apreselected threshold.

FIG. 5 shows displays of campaign recipients in which the display ofeach of the recipients varies depending on characteristics of each ofthe campaign recipients, according to an embodiment. As previouslydescribed, for an embodiment, each recipient may be given a value. Thevalue can indicate a level of influence that recipient has on otherrecipients, or the value can indicate a likelihood that other recipientswill act similarly with the recipient. For an embodiment, the valueindicates a likelihood that the recipient will engage when receiving theelectronic mail campaign.

For an embodiment, the electronic message campaign adjusts or varies thedisplay of the electronic message on the display of each recipient basedat least in part on the characteristics of the recipient. Past historycan suggest that recipients with specific characteristics will be moreor less likely to engage depending upon the presentation (display) ofthe receive electronic messages of the electronic message campaign.

A display of a first electronic message 505 includes content that isadaptively selected based on characteristics of the recipient. A displayof a second electronic message 507 includes movement of the electronicmassage 508 across the display. A display of an Nth type of electronicmessage 509 includes the message popping up after a period of time. Theelectronic messages 505, 507, 509 of FIG. 5 are examples of the types ofdisplay manipulation of electronic messages of the electronic messagecampaigns based on characteristics of the recipient. These arenon-limiting examples.

For an embodiment, the display of the electronic message campaignincludes visual (content, presentation of display) based on priorengagements of the recipient. For example, a website link includedwithin the message is influenced by prior actions/engagement of therecipient. The “look” and features of the campaign could be influencedby prior actions/engagement of the recipient.

For an embodiment, a recipient that has previously engaged withelectronic message campaigns of a merchant will continue to receiveelectronic messages having similar displays because the display appearsto be working. For an embodiment, a recipient that has previouslyrefused to engage with electronic message campaigns of a merchant willreceive electronic messages having varying displays in hopes that adifferent display will cause the recipient to engage with the campaign.

Although specific embodiments have been described and illustrated, theembodiments are not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangementsof parts so described and illustrated. The described embodiments are toonly be limited by the claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented method of warming sendinginfrastructure for electronic message accounts, comprising: obtaining,by a server, an initial contact list; checking, by the server, theinitial contact list to determine that the initial contact listsatisfies an initial set of engagement rules; generating, by the server,an active contact list comprising modifying the initial contact listwhen the initial contact list does not satisfy the initial set ofengagement rules; electronically sending, by the server, an electronicmessage campaign to recipients of the active contact list; analyzing asuccess of the electronically sent campaign, comprising sensing actionsof the recipients in response to electronically receiving electronicmessages of the electronic message campaign, wherein analyzing thesuccess comprises: a computing device of one or more of the recipientsreceiving an electronic message, an application loaded on the computingdevice controlling sensing of a location sensor and motion sensors ofthe computing device based on reception of the electronic message; theapplication loaded on the computing device identifying and trackingsensed locations of the location sensor of the computing device, andsensed motion of motion sensors of the computing device; determining, bya campaign success engine, a success score of the electronic messages,and a level of engagement of the recipient based on the trackedlocations, and the sensed motion; and adaptively adjusting, by theserver, the active contact list according to active engagement rules ofbased on an evaluated success of the electronically sent campaigncomprising reducing a number of recipients of the active contact list byeliminating non-engaged recipients based on the determined success scoreof the electronic messages of the electronically sent campaign;identifying engaged recipients of the electronic message campaign of theactive contact list over a predetermined period of time by the activeengagement rules; adaptively adjusting the active contact list accordingto active engagement rules based on an evaluated success of theelectronically sent campaign comprising adjusting the predeterminedperiod of time based on the evaluated success of the electronically sentcampaign; electronically sending a present electronic message campaignto recipients of the adaptively adjusted active contact list; andcontrolling a visual content of displays of computing devices of each ofthe recipients of the present electronic message based on the level ofengagement of the recipient.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining, by the application loaded on the computingdevice, whether the computing device of the recipient interacts withanother computing device of another recipient based on the sensedlocation and motion of the computing device, and sensed location andmotion of another computing device of the other recipient; and furthercontrolling the visual content of displays of computing devices of eachof the recipients of the present electronic message based on thedetermined influence of the recipient.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: identifying patterns of location visits of the computingdevice of the recipient; further determining, by the campaign successengine, the success score of the electronic messages, and the level ofengagement of the recipient, based on the identified patterns oflocation visits.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sensing,by the application loaded on the computing device, web activity of theone or more recipients; wherein the level of engagement of the recipientis further based on the sense web activity.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising a plurality of predetermined periods of time, whereinqualification of whether a recipient is an engaged recipient isdifferent for different of the predetermined periods of time.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: sensing at least one of handmotions, direction of eyesight, and orientations of the computing devicethat indicate product interaction of the recipient; and wherein thelevel of engagement of the recipient is further based on the indicatedproduct interaction.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the predeterminedperiod of time increases when the evaluated success indicates theelectronically sent campaign is determined to be successful, and whereinthe predetermined period of time decreases when the evaluated successindicates the electronically sent campaign is determined to beunsuccessful.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the active contact listadaptively updates as frequently as every time the electronic messagecampaign is electronically sent.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein thepredetermined period of time adaptively updates as frequently as everytime the electronic message campaign is electronically sent.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein checking the initial contact list todetermine that the initial contact list satisfies the initial set ofrules of engagement comprises: determining whether a number ofrecipients of the initial contact list is greater than a first contactnumber threshold.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein generating theactive contact list comprises modifying the initial contact list byreducing the number of recipients to below the first contact threshold.12. The method of claim 1, wherein checking the initial contact list todetermine that the initial contact list satisfies the initial set ofrules of engagement comprises: identifying a number of unengagedrecipients of the initial contact list; comparing the number ofrecipients of the initial contact list with a number of recipients ofthe initial contact list minus the unengaged recipients are removed fromthe initial contact list.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein generatingthe active contact list comprises: eliminating the unengaged recipientsif the compared number of recipients of the initial contact list with anumber of recipients of the initial contact list minus the unengagedrecipients is greater than a threshold percentage.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, wherein analyzing the success of the campaign comprisesdetermining an open rate of the campaign, including determining apercentage of recipients that opened the campaign.
 15. The method ofclaim 1, wherein analyzing the success of the campaign comprisesdetermining a click through rate of the campaign, including determininga percentage of recipients that selected a link within the campaign. 16.The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the success of the campaigncomprises determining a conversion rate of the campaign, includingdetermining a percentage of recipients that are determined to haveperformed an action based on the campaign.
 17. A system of warmingelectronic message accounts, comprising: a server electronicallynetworked with a plurality of computing devices of a plurality ofrecipients of an electronic mail campaign, the server operating to:obtain an initial contact list; check the initial contact list todetermine that the initial contact list satisfies an initial set ofrules of engagement; generate an active contact list comprisingmodifying the initial contact list when the initial contact list doesnot satisfy the initial rules of engagement; electronically send anelectronic message campaign to recipients of the active contact list:analyze a success of the electronically sent campaign, comprisingsensing actions of the recipients in response to electronicallyreceiving electronic messages of the electronic message campaign,wherein analyzing the success comprises: a computing device of one ormore of the recipients receiving an electronic message, an applicationloaded on the computing device controlling sensing of a location sensorand motion sensors of the computing device based on reception of theelectronic message; the application loaded on the computing deviceidentifying and tracking sensed locations of the location sensor of thecomputing device, and sensed motion of motion sensors of the computingdevice; determining a success score of the electronic messages, and alevel of engagement of the recipient based on the tracked locations, andthe sensed motion; and adaptively adjust the active contact listaccording to active rules of engagement based on an evaluated success ofthe electronically sent campaign, comprising; reducing a number ofrecipients of the active contact list by eliminating non-engagedrecipients based on the determined success score of the electronicmessages of the electronically sent campaign; identifying engagedrecipients of the electronic message campaign of the active contact listover a predetermined period of time by the active engagement rules;adaptively adjusting the active contact list according to activeengagement rules based on an evaluated success of the electronicallysent campaign comprising adjusting the predetermined period of timebased on the evaluated success of the electronically sent campaign;electronically send a present electronic message campaign to recipientsof the adaptively adjusted active contact list; and control a visualcontent of displays of computing devices of each of the recipients ofthe present electronic message based on the level of engagement of therecipient.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the application loaded onthe computing device further determines whether the computing device ofthe recipient interacts with another computing device of anotherrecipient based on the sensed location and motion of the computingdevice, and sensed location and motion of another computing device ofthe other recipient, and the server further operates to control thevisual content of displays of computing devices of each of therecipients of the present electronic message based on the determinedinfluence of the recipient.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein theapplication loaded on the computing device is configured to sense webactivity of the one or more recipients; and wherein the level ofengagement of the recipient is further based on the sense web activity.20. The system of claim 17 wherein the application loaded on thecomputing device is further configured to sense at least one of handmotions, direction of eyesight, and orientations of the computing devicethat indicate product interaction of the recipient, and wherein thelevel of engagement of the recipient is further based on the indicatedproduct interaction.